Decommissioning the Nimitz is a Huge Mistake..

[Schwarzer Ritter]

Sail the Nimitz to the Philippines and permanently place it in a concrete cofferdam to provide a base against China. There is already an old Liberty ship doing that. Yes, it is a target as is anything on the water but it is also an asset.

[pxmcc]

not a bad idea sir..

Originally Posted by Schwarzer Ritter

Sail the Nimitz to the Philippines and permanently place it in a concrete cofferdam to provide a base against China. There is already an old Liberty ship doing that. Yes, it is a target as is anything on the water but it is also an asset.

[txdot-guy]

Originally Posted by Schwarzer Ritter

Sail the Nimitz to the Philippines and permanently place it in a concrete cofferdam to provide a base against China. There is already an old Liberty ship doing that. Yes, it is a target as is anything on the water but it is also an asset.

Removal of the two nuclear reactors and its nuclear fuel requires removing sections of the hull that would render the carrier non sail worthy. Not to mention that even after removing the reactors portions of the ship will still be radioactive for years to come.

Decommissioning the ship includes removal of all radioactive and environmentally damaging materials. The rest is recycled. Cost of decommissioning will cost at minimum half a billion dollars.

[ICU 812]

Tex Dot has it right . . .and so does the Navy.

Let's just drop this. Everything has been said.

[pxmcc]

dang..

Originally Posted by txdot-guy

Removal of the two nuclear reactors and its nuclear fuel requires removing sections of the hull that would render the carrier non sail worthy. Not to mention that even after removing the reactors portions of the ship will still be radioactive for years to come.

Decommissioning the ship includes removal of all radioactive and environmentally damaging materials. The rest is recycled. Cost of decommissioning will cost at minimum half a billion dollars.

[Schwarzer Ritter]

Originally Posted by txdot-guy

Removal of the two nuclear reactors and its nuclear fuel requires removing sections of the hull that would render the carrier non sail worthy. Not to mention that even after removing the reactors portions of the ship will still be radioactive for years to come.

Decommissioning the ship includes removal of all radioactive and environmentally damaging materials. The rest is recycled. Cost of decommissioning will cost at minimum half a billion dollars.

Don't remove both reactors.

[Precious_b]

Originally Posted by Schwarzer Ritter

Sail the Nimitz to the Philippines and permanently place it in a concrete cofferdam to provide a base against China. There is already an old Liberty ship doing that. Yes, it is a target as is anything on the water but it is also an asset.

Don't we have a ship doing that in North Korea right now?

[CG2014]

Navy delays USS Nimitz retirement to 2027

The U.S. Navy has extended the service life of its oldest aircraft carrier, USS Nimitz, by 10 months to March 2027, aligning with the delayed arrival of the new carrier John F. Kennedy.


The move ensures the Navy maintains its congressionally mandated fleet of 11 carriers amid shipbuilding delays.


https://www.stripes.com/branches/nav...-21073175.html


https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com...er-uss-nimitz/

[royamcr]

It is running on "radioactive fumes" and will not be deployed. It can still be used for training for crew and pilots closer to home.

There is no "gas gauge" for a reactor but I imagine they've evaluated everything they can and decided it can operate in some way. At some point it might have to get a "tow ship" if it runs out of fuel. I assume that even if the reactors run out of fuel there will still be enough heat produced to at least get home if it remains close to the east coast.

[CG2014]

It will be part of Southern Command 4th Fleet


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United...uthern_Command

“Nimitz is deploying to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility this spring as part of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet’s Southern Seas 2026 deployment,” Lt. Cmdr. Peter Pagano, a spokesman for the carrier, said in a March 8 email sent from aboard the ship.

[Schwarzer Ritter]

Originally Posted by Precious_b

Don't we have a ship doing that in North Korea right now?

Yes, the USS Pueblo. I met its captain Lloyd Mark Bucher years ago. One of his crewman was from my hometown. Taken on the high seas in January of 68.

[royamcr]

Originally Posted by CG2014

It will be part of Southern Command 4th Fleet


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United...uthern_Command

Yep which is on the way to the east coast where it is headed to from Washington State. It's too big for the Panama Canal so has to take the long way around South America and for the next year will hang out on the Atlantic side for training exercises. .

[pxmcc]

well there ya go..

Originally Posted by CG2014

Navy delays USS Nimitz retirement to 2027

The U.S. Navy has extended the service life of its oldest aircraft carrier, USS Nimitz, by 10 months to March 2027, aligning with the delayed arrival of the new carrier John F. Kennedy.


The move ensures the Navy maintains its congressionally mandated fleet of 11 carriers amid shipbuilding delays.


https://www.stripes.com/branches/nav...-21073175.html


https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com...er-uss-nimitz/

[royamcr]

I wouldn't really call this keeping it in service. It isn't like they are taking it to the middle east or other hot spot around the world. The Nimitz is just cruising to its final destination and making some stops along the way.

I imagine they are taking the risk because it is unlikely to have both reactors run out of fuel at the same time. Even if the reactors ran low on fuel it isn't like a car out of gas that stops. It just wouldn't be able to go as fast or launch planes, etc.

[pxmcc]

the Ford is going in for repairs after a massive fire onboard.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/18/polit...-fire-iran-war

i predict the Nimitz will have some excitement sooner rather than later. good call by Congress to extend her service.